as long as you're here with me
by sleepinnude
Summary: Blaine and Kurt are denied tickets to their prom. Mostly fluffy Klaine.


**Title: **as long as you're here**  
Inspiration: **Partially from tanishaamaral over on tumblr. ^^ Well, I've had the idea for a slowdance!fic for awhile, but she gave me the vehicle for it.**  
****Disclaimer: **I don't own Glee or the characters.**  
Notes: **So, this is _finally_ finished. Songs referenced are Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight," Backstreet Boys' "As Long As You Love Me" (also where the title comes from. /no shame), Four Seasons' "December 1963 (Oh What A Night!), The Beatles' "All My Loving," "We Go Togother" from Grease and "Mammia Mia" by ABBA; none of which I own. ^^

* * *

Kurt is curled up entirely under the covers, head and all, his phone pressed to his cheek. "It's not a big deal," he says quietly. But his eyes are red and there are tear tracks down his flushed cheeks from earlier in the night.

"Yes it is," comes Blaine soft refute. He's pacing in circles near the foot of his own bed, free hand tangled deep through the back of his hair. "It's a big deal to you."

Kurt shrugs, rubbing his wrist under his eyes, catching tears. "Only a little, I guess. I mean." He swallows, sighs. It's too hot under all his covers but he likes the something intimate it creates for the conversation. Like Blaine is lying alongside him, listening to him whisper between breaths and stroking fingertips under his eyes. Rather than miles away, now sitting on the edge of his own bed, arms leaning on his knees. "Whatever. It's only prom. Everyone makes it out to be something huge and fantastic but really it's not."

"Kurt, you don't have to pretend this doesn't mean anything to you. You're allowed to be upset about this; you should be upset about this." Blaine himself certainly is. He truly couldn't care less about the prom. But he's upset because Kurt is upset and because will this ever not happen to them?

Kurt blinks back the new tears and shakes his head. "I… I'm…" He sighs. He's tired, is what he is. He's tired of always, always having to fight. He just wants to be with his boyfriend and he's _tired_ of all the things that get in the way of that, including western Ohio just being western Ohio. It feels like a never-ending, never-winning battle and Kurt just wants to stop trying. He wants to go somewhere else, be somewhere else, except he doesn't because his friends and Blaine are the only things making this worthwhile. "It's late," he finally says, dropping the previous thought. "We should get to sleep."

"Kurt…" Blaine trails, but he doesn't have anything more to say so instead he just nods and sighs and breathes out, "Okay, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right," Kurt confirms, licking his lips and huddling further into his pillow, pretending Blaine whispered that against his collarbone instead of the speaker of his phone. "Good night; I love you."

Even that doesn't bring a smile to Blaine's face like it normally would. "I love you too. 'Night" Kurt clicks off and Blaine is already halfway to a plan.

* * *

Finn has already left and Kurt is staring at the ceiling. Finn is at Rachel's house; that's where their whole group is meeting for pre-Prom pictures. Their whole group sans Blaine and Kurt of course. The whole group with Finn's tie matching Quinn's dress and Sam's tie matching Rachel's dress and Tina straightening Mike's vest and Brittany sitting in Artie's lap for their picture. But Kurt isn't bitter or anything. He sighs heavily and rolls over, glancing to the back-lit screen of his iPhone. It shows an alert for three unviewed text messages, all from Blaine. He has been texting Kurt most of the evening, trying to convince him to come over and watch movies or go to the park or something, anything.

The phone buzzes again and Kurt snatches it up, intent on sending a snarky message to his boyfriend, telling him to cut it all, he just wants to sulk alone in bed. This text is from Mercedes though. U**r boo is drivin me crazy, boy! Would u just answer him already? Luv u/wish u were here! **Kurt rolls his eyes and could just about kill Blaine for interrupting Mercedes' prom. Because the clock on his phone tells him that the prom has certainly started already and there's probably some generic, Top 40s song playing and Mike is probably dancing his ass off, Tina bopping along, breathlessly happy. Santana is slinking along her date, he's sure, and he hopes Mercedes has only checked her phone because she's hitting the table for a drink in between dancing with the hunky soccer player who asked her to prom.

Kurt taps out a quick apology and reciprocation of love to Mercedes before scrolling through Blaine's most recent texts. Pleading, with adorable promises of future favors if he will only come out and see Blaine that night. It makes Kurt smile but only a little bit and he really does want to see his boyfriend, but he's sort the worst kind of snarky tonight. And he'd rather not subject Blaine to that tonight because Blaine would know what the cause of it was and he would feel bad and then Kurt would feel even worse and he sort of doesn't want to remember his prom that way; even if they aren't actually at prom.

He composes a sincere apology to Blaine, rife with emoticons and less-than-threes, before suggesting that they hang out tomorrow. It's supposed to rain (there is _not_ a surge of vindictive happiness through Kurt at the thought of everyone's lakeside after-prom plans getting ruined) and he thinks by then he'll be over it enough to do nothing but cuddle up to Blaine and watch musicals and classic Disney. The message is just sent when Kurt hears feet moving up the stairs. It's too quick for his father's gate and too heavy for Carole's but he doesn't have time to venture a third guess before Blaine is into his bedroom.

"Blaine," Kurt more or less whines, a scoff trailing the end of it. "I just texted you to say I can't hang out tonight." And then he really looks at Blaine and _wow_. His brain can't decide which fact to register first: that Blaine is wearing a tux or that he looks really, really freaking _good_ in that tux. His hair is gelled but not like Dalton!Blaine. It's looser and looks like it would feel good to trace each individual curl. Plus, he's beaming and Kurt never has loved his boyfriend more than when he's smiling big and wide and genuine.

"We're not hanging out," Blaine counters, still grinning and bouncing on his feet. "We're _going_ out. C'mon, Kurt. I'm in a tux; you've got to show me up."

"I am not crashing McKinley High's prom," Kurt says, rising and crossing his arms over his chest. His voice leaves absolutely no room for argument and the arched eyebrow is backing that sentiment up.

"We are not crashing McKinley High's prom," Blaine replies, still beaming and holy hell, he's got a plastic box in his hand and there's a freaking corsage inside. Kurt has simultaneous urges toward kissing and smacking him. Because there's a matching-but-not-identical corsage done through Blaine's lapel and suddenly he almost wants to cry because Blaine looks beyond amazing and he's standing there with a corsage and he loves Kurt and they would have the most beautiful prom picture out of all of McKinley. But instead, Kurt is standing here in jeans and some tee-shirt that he usually wears to the shop and one of his socks may or may not have originally belonged to Finn and his hair is all mussed from lying down.

"Blaine…" he says in this wrecked sort of voice.

And then Blaine is up against him, pressing his forehead to Kurt's temple, whispering. "Hey. I just want to have tonight with you. We can do what I have planned or we can crawl back into your bed and do absolutely nothing. Or we can make bitchy comments about all the horrible dresses that are probably going on at the McKinley prom. Your choice, babe." And the endearment is sort of bitten off at the end because Blaine knows Kurt hates it when he calls him "babe" but Kurt knows that Blaine loves calling him "babe."

Kurt is still for a moment before he lets out a long exhale. Nudging his forehead against Blaine's, he comments, "Well, it would be a shame to put a tux like this to waste, hmm?" His fingers brush over the shoulder of the suit-jacket and Blaine breaths out a laugh with relief on the edges.

"Cool. Yeah. Then…get dressed! C'mon!"

Kurt bubbles out a laugh and nods, turning from his boyfriend to do just that. Blaine catches his hand though, pulling him back for a short kiss. "Thanks," he whispers against Kurt's lips. "Means a lot to me." Kurt just nods and moves to his closet. And he may be blinking tears back again, but they're a different sort of tears, mostly.

When Blaine's headlights bounce and flash over the parking lot of McKinley High, suspicion sinks into Kurt's stomach and he frowns. "Blaine. What are we doing here?"

"You'll see," is all Blaine answers, cryptic. The lot is practically empty aside from them and Kurt is sure that the doors are locked. So what are they doing here? And did he really put thisoutfit together to wander the parking lot of his high school? Because that is so not happening.

Blaine pulls to a spot and then rushes to open Kurt's door for him and Kurt rolls his eyes. They walk hand-in-hand up to the building, Kurt growing ever-curious. "Blaine," he says as they reach one of the side-doors. "_What_ are we doing here? I mean, how are we even going to get in and, once we do…why?"

Blaine just smirks and pulls the door open. Like he was just waiting for Kurt to ask that question so he could be a snarky bastard and everything. Bitch. Kurt blinks at him once before turning his nose into the air a little and passing through the threshold. Blaine laughs and follows him, grabbing his hand again. With Blaine tugging the lead, they move through the dim halls, footsteps echoing in lockers and fluorescent light covers. They end up at the choir room and Blaine opens the door with a flourish and bow for Kurt.

Stepping in, the first thing Kurt notices is Brad seated at the piano. The strangely ever-present pianist is wearing jeans, a suit jacket, a white tee shirt and the usual slightly put-out expression. The lights are on but dimmed and all the chairs are all pushed away from the center. Kurt turns to look at Blaine, ask what's going on, but Blaine immediately takes him into his arms. Blaine's cheek is resting against his shoulder, Brad is playing a slow, sweet melody that Kurt recognizes as Eric Clapton and then they're dancing. Slow dancing, pressed up against together, in the middle of the McKinley High choir room to "Wonderful Tonight." And Blaine is half-humming, half-singing the words. Kurt turns his head, pressing his face to Blaine's temple because he's not going cry, no he isn't.

They dance close and without any hurry at all. Blaine's fingers trail from Kurt's waist to his back and then somehow they mirror poses, one hand at the back of the neck, the other resting low on the hip. There's a beautiful little lilt on the piano that Kurt thinks Brad tossed in for flair and then Blaine is straightening up so his face is pressed into Kurt's neck. He speaks. His lips moving against Kurt's bare skin makes his lungs shiver.

"I know it's not _prom_, per se," Blaine is murmuring, "not really. But…I don't need to be a statement or to take a stand or to make a demonstration. Not tonight. Tonight, I just need to slow dance with the boy I love. Tonight, I just need to be with you." Kurt licks his lips and closes his eyes, surrounding himself with the piano and Blaine's voice as he goes on. "I know you didn't want to come out tonight, but I didn't want you to sulk. I hope this is okay, because…" And then Blaine exhales and says his name on the end of the breath. "Kurt. This is all I need. Better than a trophy, better than a plastic crown."

Kurt can't help himself any longer. He's sliding his fingers under Blaine's chin and tilting his face up so he can kiss him. It sweet and simple, just like the night, just like them together. And just like all that as well, it's sort of perfect. The pull away but linger in each other's space, eyes closed, and Brad plays them out. Erica Clapton peters away to something a little more pop-y, a little more top-40s-circa-1997. And then he realizes that it's a _Backstreet Boys'_ song and he wants to ask Blaine, "Oh, _really_?" but he instead, he just dances with his boyfriend.

For a soft moment, at least, and then he's asking "How?" His head is ducked a little so that he can speak into Blaine's ear.

Blaine just laughs and shrugs. "I… have my ways," is all he says in response. Kurt suspects that Lauren Zizes may have had something to do with this. But then Blaine pulls him closer and he's mouthing all these confessions against Kurt's collarbone so he can't think about conspiracies any longer. It's hard to think of anything, really, with Blaine's lips spelling out "I love you"s and "you're so beautiful"s and "thank you for sharing this night with me" and "thank you for being with me at all."

And Kurt is almost crying when the door to the room sort of bursts open and Kurt's instinct is to spring away but Blaine's is the opposite, pulling Kurt flush to him. They all turn to see what the intrusion is, Brad even dropping the song with a brief cacophony of keys. Kurt's heart is racing and he's sure it's Coach Sylvester come to get them kicked out or something. Instead, it's Mercedes, laughing and looking flawless, pulling her hottie date after her.

"Ooooh, look at you!" she cooes, rushing into the room. Crowding in behind her is…well, everyone. Rachel dances in excitedly with Sam following behind, grinning. Quinn and Finn follow next, quiet smiles and holding hands. The rest just ebb in like their group always seems to move as one when all together, Santana and Artie and Brittany and Mike and Tina and Puck and Lauren and all the dates. There's laughter and catcalls and chattering and Blaine is looking just as shell-shocked as Kurt. He recovers much quicker though, joining in on the laughing and shaking his head a little.

"What… What are you all doing here?" Kurt asks, fingers still buried in Blaine's sleeves.

Mercedes just shrugs and gives him one of her rare entirely genuine grins, no sass backing it at all. "Well, we just sorta figured that we all wanted to be together. And since y'all can't be _there_, we came here."

"Yeah," Puck chimes in, grabbing onto Lauren as Brad starts up that Four Season's song, "December 1963." And then it doesn't matter that Kurt doesn't have Blaine all to himself, slow dancing in this choir room. Because they're all swinging and whirling and all the girls look fantastic and the boys are all dashing (but none looking as good as Blaine does) and everyone's smiling big and sing-shouting the words.

"You were in on it?" Kurt calls to Mercedes as he dances with her in passing.

She just laughs loud and free and shoots him a look. "Of course I was! Who else could bitch-slap you out of your pouting and get you to answer your poor boo, hmm?" Kurt grins and hugs her close and somehow gets passed along to Finn for the next song.

* * *

Somewhere along the way, Brad leaves and Artie takes up a guitar from storage and Finn moves to drums and they're all jamming out to "All My Loving" by the Beatles like it's their generation's song and loving every minute of it.

Blaine sings right to Kurt and the girls all form a little fan-circle around the two of them. Blaine hams it up like he always does, pulling more faces and 1940's soft-shoe steps than Kurt can keep track of. And he's blushing and denying their relationship from it but he honestly can't breathe he's laughing so hard and so full of love for this silly, wonderful boy dancing in front of him.

* * *

It's nearing midnight before they decide to leave and they do so in a single wave, all sort of bursting out of McKinley in a crush of expensive fabrics and mussed up hair and perfect make-up and sweat and laughter and love. There's rain on the air as they trot over the cracked black top parking lot. In the background, Santana, Brittany and Puck are belting out "We Go Together," vying with Mercedes, Tina, Mike and Artie trilling through "Mammia Mia." Sam has an arm slung over Rachel's shoulders as he calls out, "Hey, yo! Guys! After-party at my place, yeah? The 'rents are all cool with it!" There's a general cheer of agreement from the crowd and Blaine comes back to Kurt's side, hugging close.

"Want to go?" he asks, forehead pressed to his cheek and lips making gentle kisses at his chin.

"Definitely," Kurt replies. Because these are his friends who skipped out on their prom to come crash his and Blaine's make-shift one. These are his friends and they're loud and mismatched and all sorts of wrong but _every, every, every_ sort of right. Everyone piles into cars and radios are suddenly blasting. The rain starts just as they pull out of the parking, leaving McKinley and the quiet, dark choir room behind them.

* * *

(They never did find out who ended up as Prom Queen and King of the McKinley High 2011 Prom. In the end though, they all had each other. They had the night, and the laughter and the dancing and the love and all of it on a warm spring night while Blaine and Kurt pressed closed and danced together and even kissed in front of their friends.)

* * *

**AN: **Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know, please. ^^  
-sleepinnude


End file.
